‘Too hard to keep things rolling’: More Modesto restaurants close amid COVID pandemic
Two more Modesto restaurants have closed their doors permanently amid the ongoing pandemic.
While last year saw more than 30 restaurant openings in the region, Stanislaus County also had many notable closures. Adding to that list are a catering business that had COVID take its feet out from under them and a short-lived restaurant that pivoted to become a nightclub.
In north Modesto, Apple Spice has shut down permanently. The boxed lunch catering and delivery business opened in August 2019 and only had a few months of normalcy before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Modesto location of the national chain was owned by Turlock resident Wayne Turnbow and his sons Zachary and Brian.
But Turnbow closed the doors on his business at the end of December and made it official this week. The chain’s concept relies heavily on office workers and business lunches, which were in short supply once COVID emerged.
“We opened up in the end of 2019 and things went well until the pandemic hit. It just took the bottom out,” he said.
Apple Spice was known for its variety of sandwiches made on bread baked fresh in-house daily. The company had nine employees when it closed.
“I hate to make that decision but it’s too hard to keep things rolling,” Turnbow said.
Another Modesto eatery that’s closed, but this time after only a few months, is the Valley Grill & Meal Prep on McHenry Avenue. The restaurant in the former Fisherman’s Galley location opened in late September last year, but was closed by December.
Owner Matt Martin has spent the last six years in food prep, with his successful Modesto-based business Valley Meal Prep — which remains open and growing. He had opened Valley Grill to branch out and expand his repertoire. After renovating the former longtime seafood restaurant, his kitchen cranked out classics like burgers, tacos and more.
But the restaurant has since closed, and in December briefly pivoted to become a nightclub called the 209 Ultra Lounge instead. Entertainment booker Eli Boyd said the club opened on New Year’s Eve and had music, DJs and other live entertainment Thursdays to Saturdays.
The nightspot had a full bar and served a small menu of bar favorites and popular dishes from the Valley Grill. Signs for the new club had recently been installed.
But former Valley Grill owner Martin confirmed this weekend that 209 Ultra Lounge is now closed. No word from him yet on if he has other plans for the spot. But for now it’s dark.
Apple Spice and Valley Grill join an unfortunate list of restaurants to shut their doors during the pandemic that already includes favorites like Fuddruckers, Barkin’ Dog Grill, Shangri-La China Bistro and more.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
